Skydiving is one of the most exhilarating and adrenaline-pumping sports in the world. While many jumpers enjoy solo skydiving, there is a more intricate and team-oriented version of this sport known as formation skydiving. This unique discipline involves a group of skydivers jumping out of an aircraft and working together to form different shapes or formations in the sky before deploying their parachutes.
In this article, we will explore how formation skydiving works, its key elements, the techniques involved, and how you can get started with it.
Whether you’re new to skydiving or have experience in solo jumps, understanding how formation skydiving operates will give you a deeper appreciation for this thrilling sport. Let’s dive into the world of formation skydiving and learn how it works.
What Is Formation Skydiving?
Formation skydiving (often abbreviated as FS) is a type of skydiving that involves multiple jumpers freefalling together to create a pre-arranged formation or shape in the air. These formations can range from simple shapes, like a circle or a star, to more complex and intricate designs, depending on the skill and experience of the jumpers involved.
The key idea behind formation skydiving is that jumpers must work together to maintain their positions relative to each other, often using specific handholds or grips to keep the formation intact. As a result, it requires precise coordination, excellent communication, and impeccable timing among all participants. The skydivers fall toward the Earth at high speeds while controlling their body positions, navigating through the air, and making adjustments to stay in the formation.
The goal of formation skydiving is not only to perform the jump and form the desired shape but also to do so with as much precision as possible, often aiming to complete the formation before deploying their parachutes. Many formation skydiving events and competitions are held around the world, where teams showcase their skills by creating complex formations and completing them in the shortest amount of time.
Key Elements of Formation Skydiving
1. Teamwork and Coordination
One of the most critical aspects of formation skydiving is teamwork. Since formation skydiving involves multiple skydivers, communication and coordination are essential for a successful jump. Each participant must know their role and position within the formation and work together to achieve the goal.
Skydivers use hand signals and verbal communication during the freefall to guide each other into position. These signals are essential, as jumpers cannot speak to each other directly due to the high speeds and wind resistance in freefall. The most common signal is a “thumbs up,” indicating that a jumper is in position and ready to proceed.
2. Different Types of Formations
Formations can vary greatly, depending on the skill level of the jumpers and the objectives of the jump. Some basic types of formations include:
2-way, 4-way, 8-way: These refer to the number of skydivers involved in the formation. A 2-way formation involves two jumpers, a 4-way involves four, and so on. Larger formations can be created with more jumpers.
Sequential formations: This type of formation skydiving involves jumpers creating a series of formations during the freefall. The goal is to perform the sequence of formations in a specific order, one after the other.
Point formations: A point formation is created when skydivers form a specific shape, such as a star, with designated points or grips for each jumper.
Random formations: These involve jumpers creating random shapes in the sky, typically without any pre-arranged plan.
As skydivers gain more experience, they can move on to more complex formations, which require greater precision and skill.
3. Body Position and Control
In formation skydiving, maintaining the correct body position is crucial for controlling your descent and staying in formation. Skydivers use specific body techniques to adjust their speed, direction, and stability.
Some common body positions include:
Arched position: The standard body position for freefalling, where skydivers arch their bodies to maintain stability and control. This is the most common position for formation skydiving.
Head-down position: This is an advanced body position where the skydiver is facing down toward the Earth, allowing them to fall at much faster speeds. It is often used in larger formations or when skydivers are performing high-speed maneuvers.
Tracking: Tracking refers to the technique used by skydivers to move horizontally through the air. This is necessary for formation skydivers to adjust their positions relative to others in the formation.
Canopy control: After completing the formation in freefall, skydivers deploy their parachutes. Canopy control is essential when transitioning from the freefall portion of the jump to the parachuting phase.
Skydivers need to ensure that their parachutes open smoothly and that they are in control of their descent.
The ability to control your body in the air is vital for maintaining a formation and ensuring that the jump proceeds safely and smoothly.
4. The Jump Process
Formation skydiving follows a specific procedure from start to finish.
The process can be broken down into the following steps:
Pre-jump briefing: Before jumping, the team meets to discuss the jump plan, including the formation, exit strategy, and emergency procedures.
This ensures that everyone is on the same page and knows their role during the jump.
Exit from the aircraft: Skydivers exit the aircraft one by one, often in a specific order, depending on the formation they are creating. In some cases, multiple jumpers exit at once to form the initial part of the formation.
Freefall: Once in the air, jumpers enter freefall and begin working together to form the designated shape. They must use precise body movements and handholds to stay in formation and maintain relative positions.
Breaking off and deployment: At a predetermined altitude, the jumpers “break off” from the formation and deploy their parachutes. This is the point where the formation ends, and individual skydivers transition to parachuting.
Landing: After deploying their parachutes, skydivers navigate safely to the ground, using their canopy control skills to adjust their trajectory and land as accurately as possible.
Formation Skydiving in Competitions
Formation skydiving is also an exciting competitive sport. In competitions, teams of skydivers are tasked with completing a series of formations within a set amount of time. Each team is judged based on their speed, accuracy, and precision in creating the formations.
There are various categories for formation skydiving competitions, including:
4-way FS: In this event, four skydivers create specific formations as quickly as possible. The clock starts when the first jumper exits the aircraft and stops when the last jumper deploys their parachute.
8-way FS: This is a similar competition, but with eight jumpers. The challenge increases with the number of participants and the complexity of the formations.
Two-way sequential FS: In this event, two skydivers work together to complete a series of formations in a specific order.
The level of skill required for competitive formation skydiving is extremely high, and teams must practice regularly to improve their speed and coordination.
How to Get Started with Formation Skydiving
If you’re interested in formation skydiving, you’ll need to have some basic skydiving experience first. Most formation skydiving courses require participants to have completed at least 200 jumps and have experience in solo skydiving before joining a team. Once you’ve reached this milestone, you can begin training for formation skydiving.
Find a skydiving school: Look for a reputable skydiving school that offers formation skydiving training. They will provide instruction on team skydiving techniques and safety protocols.
Join a skydiving team: To practice formation skydiving, you will need to join a team or find a group of experienced jumpers who are interested in training with you.
Practice regularly: Like any sport, practice is key to improving your skills in formation skydiving. Regular jumps with your team will help you refine your technique and build better communication and coordination.
Conclusion
Formation skydiving is an exciting and dynamic discipline that requires a combination of skill, teamwork, and precision. By working together to create intricate formations in freefall, skydivers can achieve stunning displays of coordination and speed. Whether you are interested in formation skydiving for fun, competition, or to challenge your limits, understanding the process and techniques involved is essential.